Avoiding the Stansted premium and Stansted staff

[tannedfrog]

As far as I know it's still possible to use Elsenham or Audley End tickets when travelling between London and Stansted Airport.

However the airport station seems to be putting poorly trained staff on all the possible entry/exit points, who struggle with any ticket that doesn't say Stansted Airport on it, and the idea that BoJ is a thing.

I successfully got through with such a ticket recently but it was on the basis of "we'll accept it this time".

Any other similar experiences or tips?

Incredible by the way that a walk-up single from London is cheaper to Cambridge than Stansted!

 

[AlterEgo]

National Express coaches are cheaper and don't have any Stansted Express staff on them.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Cheeper still if you book through Easy Bus which gives NX travel at a lower cost

 

[Paul Kelly]

I've been accepted by manual barriers at Stansted Airport with a ticket from/to Audley End quite a few times, most recently the week before last, and have never had an issue. At the exit barriers they always give the ticket back to me. I choose Audley End rather than Elsenham as it's less controversial and easier to explain, given that there are direct trains from Stansted Airport to Audley End. I've even bought a ticket from Audley End at the booking office there and the clerk didn't bat an eyelid, even printed me out a journey itinerary starting from Stansted and not from Audley End!

 

[ictl]

I've used Cambridge-London and Whittlesford Parkway-London tickets at Stansted Airport with no problems. Audley End-London shouldn't be a problem as well.

I wouldn't recommend Elsenham-London as there are no direct trains and the AGA website doesn't allow you to book it going via Stansted Airport anyway. The AGA website allows you to book Newport-London via Stansted Airport (doubling back at Audley End) in both directions, so at least you'd have an itinerary to show then.

 

[Ianno87]

I commonly travel Cambridge-Stansted-London on my annual season ticket and never have a problem (I sometimes pass through the barrier line too to grab a coffee/snack/toilet in the airport too)

 

[47421]

In around April 2014 a negative easement was published, number 700455, which disallowed certain journeys on West Anglia via Stansted Airport. As I recall it was poorly worded as it say "to Liverpool Street or beyond" and therefore did not catch journeys to Tott Hale or Stratford.

If you do a search for Stansted on the National Routeing Guide Update thread you can see some discussion about it.

That easement no longer appears on the list published 20 / 09 / 2016 on the ATOC website. Anyone know why?

On that earlier thread there was some discussion as to why Stansted was a permitted route on journeys that can be made direct Audley End to Bishops Stortford, as it is not within the 3 mile rule.

 

[Paul Kelly]

In around April 2014 a negative easement was published, number 700455, which disallowed certain journeys on West Anglia via Stansted Airport. As I recall it was poorly worded as it say "to Liverpool Street or beyond" and therefore did not catch journeys to Tott Hale or Stratford.

If you do a search for Stansted on the National Routeing Guide Update thread you can see some discussion about it.

That easement no longer appears on the list published 20 / 09 / 2016 on the ATOC website. Anyone know why?

I have a feeling I posted this before, but I think the easement was just intended to be temporary during engineering work which had closed part of the west anglia main line for a series of consecutive weekends, and it was to stop journey planners routeing passengers from stations like Sawbridgeworth via Stansted Airport, from where the direct/express replacement bus to Liverpool Street resulted in it sometimes being the fastest option. The fact that most of the journey was by bus would have meant the mileage was shorter than the shortest routes and, without the negative easement, would have passed the routeing guide check that journey planners use.

I don't think there was any serious attempt to block tickets from Audley End being valid via Stansted Airport - it's a very reasonable route.